Predator
by basically.unwritten
Summary: YukixSojiro. Sojiro's making moves on Yuki, but will Yuki take the bait? Chapter 5 up - FINALLY.
1. The End

Green tie. Black suit. All eyes focused on one point in the room.

So he was cute. I'll admit it. But that didn't me from turning away the moment he entered the room.

The entire crowd entered into a hushed silence. Typical. And totally not good for an ego that was already the size of a planet.

Tension. There was so much of it that I could cut it with a knife. I eyed the knife that was next to the butter. But I could think of better things to do with it.

Nothing violent, of course.

I could tell even without looking that every single girl in the room was dying for him to ask her for a dance. Except me, of course. I learn from mistakes.

I filled a cup with punch and turned around, pitying the girl who he would target. I saw him standing in front of me with a smirk on his face, as if expecting me to fall into his arms. The air around him was drenched with confidence. But two could play at that game.

I glanced up at him. "Yes?" I asked.

"The song that's playing has a good beat," he said, his eyes twinkling. "Care to enlighten me with a dance?"

My mind deciphered his request. His eyes may have been luring once, but maybe I was immune to them now.

"No, I hate this song," I said bluntly.

He got the hint, but the guy was persistent. Besides, he wouldn't be shot down that quickly. Days that he was rejected were rare. "Can you save the next slow song for me, then?" He smiled. "I'll even let you pick the song."

"Oh, I'm touched," I said sarcastically, narrowing my eyes. "But I'll have to decline. I'm not in the mood."

So I had a tendency to beat around the bush. I should have just told him to back off. But my hormones were kicking in; his good looks were getting inside my head like they had so many times before. The best thing I could do was politely decline.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied with a frown. "Well, I'll have to go ask someone else, then."

Ah. The jealousy factor.

However, it wouldn't work. If I could, I would have recommended one of my friends to dance with him. However, I wouldn't wish the guy on my worst enemy.

"You do that," I said, waving my hand at him.

He didn't give me another glance as he turned on his heel and walked off.

I congratulated myself on a job well done.

--

A/N: Very vague so far. Tell me what you think. Comments appreciated (:


	2. Trap Activated

Chapter 1 - Trap Activated

The normal reaction his walking into the room was complete astonishment. I never understood why for a while. He was just like any other guy, and no other guy ever got so much attention.

So when he walked into the sweets shop like he had a few times before, I didn't even give him a double-take. A simple glance would do.

I could hardly say the same for the two other customers in the shop; a guy and a girl. The girl was just staring open-mouthed. Even the guy had tripped on the way to his table. Probably because of the sudden lack of oxygen, because everyone happened to suck in at the same time.

"Yuki," he said, brushing the hair out of his bangs and smiling down at me.

Every set of eyes in the room fixed on me, including my boss's.

"Hey, Sojiro," I said with a smile and leaned forward on my elbows in the counter. "What'll it be today?"

"Actually, can you come outside?" he asked, jerking his thumb in the direction of the door. "I want to talk to you."

I thought for a moment. Did I want to go outside with him? No. Did I want to talk to him? Not really. It wasn't really up on my top priorities list. Besides, who knows what kind of moves he would make on me if I went?

"I'm busy," I said.

Sojiro looked around the store. The couple had left. There was just my boss innocently wiping off a table. But I totally knew that she was eavesdropping. Privacy was a no-no with her.

"You're busy," he said with a laugh. He didn't buy it one bit. He leaned on the counter. "Okay, how's this?" he asked with a louder voice, so loud that my boss just stopped wiping altogether. "I will buy all of your merchandise if you come out and talk to me."

I began to decline, but my boss whipped around like she was on fire and sprinted towards Sojiro. "You're not serious?" she asked him.

He pulled out his wallet and handed her the money. She looked like she was on the verge of passing out, but to my dismay, she quickly waved me toward the door. "Go with the nice boy, Yuki," she said in a polite voice that I never thought would pass through her lips.

Sojiro smirked at me. I rolled my eyes, but at the expense of my boss, I followed him out the door.

Sojiro strolled out in front of me and chose a table for us to sit at outside. He chuckled as I sat down. "Was that too pushy of me?" he asked. It was more a purr, I noticed. Not something many guys could pull off.

"Yeah, it was pretty pushy," I agreed with a laugh.

He smiled at me warmly. "You seem to be doing well."

I was shocked as I felt a sudden embarrassment overcome me. I could feel my face heating up at a rate so quickly that I couldn't even stop it. Since when did he pay so much attention to someone like me?

Quickly wiping it away, I returned the smile with one of my own, although my fingers were clenched tightly under the table. I had to make him believe that I was completely calm. "Yes, I'm pretty good," I assured him, putting on a cool composure. "Now what did you want to talk about?"

"I just wanted to see if you were alright," he said with a curious tilt of his head. "I mean, it's not every day that I see a girl crying in the middle of the street without something being wrong."

My eyes widened and I looked down at my feet as if it were a reflex. My mouth was open but nothing came out, probably because my throat was completely dry from shock.

That day went in and out of my mind like a horror movie. I remembered my best friend, Tsukushi, telling me that if she and the guy she liked were going to go out, my family might be financially endangered because of his status-hungry mother. She had assured me that she would never go with him, but I had seen the look in her eyes and had not believed a single word she said. I had assured Tsukushi that I would be okay, but only a few mere minutes after she had left, I had broken down in the middle of the street. To think, I didn't even have enough dignity to get myself inside the house. And to think of all those people that had seen me while they walked by. Including the boy sitting in front of me.

"Well, uh," I stuttered. I shook my head and gave myself a second to regain my composure. I wouldn't let him weaken me this way.

I sat up straighter and stared him point-blank in the eyes. "I'm sorry that you had to see that in the street," I explained. "But it's better now," and with a shrug, I tore away from his glare and looked down the street, though the words continued the flow through like water. "I figured out on that day that I have to stop pitying myself, or else I'll never get anywhere. And I don't believe a word Tsukushi says about not loving Tsukasa. It's obvious that they were meant to be together." I smiled to myself. "So I swore to myself that no matter what Tsukasa's mother would do, there was no way she could tear my family apart. My willpower is nothing at all compared to Tsukushi's, but I can come support my family if I try."

Sojiro smiled at me. "You're a very strong person," he commended.

I blushed, and then gazed into his dark eyes. The truth was pounding through my head like a hammer slamming against a wall. I wanted to say it; I had to say it. I gulped and then shrugged with a light laugh. "Actually, Sojiro, the person that made me strong… was you." The tone I had set was an attempt to keep the conversation lighthearted, but there was immediately a tension in the air.

His head jolted up and for a second, I thought I could see a hint of coldness in his eyes. It quickly disappeared, and that sly smile came back. He said nothing, which was a sign for me to continue talking.

"I can't go through life crying whenever times get rough," I explained. "That not only hurts me but everyone around me."

"You're a great person, Yuki," Sojiro said with a nod. He paused for a moment, then added, "so you find yourself a good boyfriend, okay?"

The blush deepened. Did he mean…

Suddenly I saw a shadow on the table, and I looked up to see a girl looking at Sojiro expectantly. "Are you ready to go, Sojiro?" the girl asked, looking strangely at me.

"Yeah," Sojiro said, scooting his chair out and standing up.

It didn't take long for my mind to interpret what had happened. For a second, I had thought that maybe he was going to ask me out, ask me to be his girlfriend. But then my gaze fell on the girl whose waist Sojiro had wrapped his arm around. I couldn't help but look blankly at the girl, hoping she was some distant cousin or something.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Yuki," Sojiro said with a smirk. The serious Sojiro was gone. The never-a-trouble-in-the-world boy was back. With a vengeance on her heart. "I'll see you later."

I could not even force myself to utter a good-bye. I watched as they walked away, and then scolded myself for being so foolish. Why would someone like Sojiro want her? It was like two completely different worlds colliding into each other. She couldn't even imagine it.

Well… yes, she could. But she didn't like to, for she knew it would never happen. She was a far cry from the type of girl who Sojiro usually dated. Even that was an understatement.

I slumped against the outside of the store, but then decided to toughen up. Didn't I just get finished talking to Sojiro about my new lack of self-pity? What better time to use it then now?

But even with the new thoughts, I could not help but drag my feet dejectedly into the shop.

--

A/N: This looks familiar, doesn't it? Yeah, I recently read Volume 25 (I think) of Boys Over Flowers. It'll be original from this point on, but I had to cut this section out of the book to make it more on realistic terms. So everything that happened at the sweets shop was Yoko Kamio's. I just rewrote it (:

As always, comments appreciated.


	3. Moving On Forward

Chapter 2 - Moving On Forward

Chapter 2 - Moving On Forward

Passing period.

It was between third and fourth period. I was starving, but there was still at least another hour until lunch. I stared into the dark depths of my locker and sighed. I was about to shut it, but a hand prevented me from it.

I yelped in surprised and looked up into Sojiro's face. As if on schedule, my face started heating up immediately. I stood up abruptly and almost tripped over myself.

Sojiro snickered and I frowned, blushing even deeper.

"You're such a klutz," he chuckled, casually throwing his arm around my shoulder.

My head snapped up, and I looked at him in shock. Was that his arm… around… my…shoulder…?

I was struck speechless. Which wasn't that hard of a task, since I didn't talk that much normally. However, I was still struck speechless.

Wasn't the throw-arm-over-shoulder move just for guys and their girlfriends? What was Sojiro thinking?

He must not have noticed. Instead, he closed my locker with his other arm, and then led me towards down the hall, probably towards my next class. However, I had forgotten all about my next class, because the thing was, Sojiro had his arm around me.

And when things like that happen, you can't really think about two things at once, whether you want to or not.

But I had to say something. I bet anything I looked like an idiot with my head down shuffling down the hallway next to him. I could just feel people staring directly at me, and I could only imagine what they were thinking.

"Why are you so tense?" Sojiro asked, looking down at me with those dark eyes that I was currently drowning in.

I bit my lip. I might as well just let the question rip. "Uh, well," I stuttered. I glanced at my shoulder, but he didn't get the message. "Arm," I blurted out. He looked at me like I was crazy. "Your arm," I repeated, mortified inside. That was a bad move. A terrible move.

"Oh," he said, shifting and moving his arm back to his side. "I thought girls liked that kind of stuff."

A voice in my mind, the inner Yuki, flared up. _Yeah, you would know, big boy._

I looked sideways. I wasn't schizophrenic or anything. It was just that my rebellious side came out a little more often then I meant for it to. I wasn't 100 the shy Yuki that everyone knew. I had a fairly devilish conscience.

"Sorry," I said quietly. It was practically a whisper. "That was rude of me."

"No, it's fine," he said with a smile.

I returned the smile and picked up my step. I was planning to ask him how his day was going, but my stomach was thinking otherwise. Before I knew it, a huge grumble was erupting from my stomach.

My jaw dropped open as Sojiro looked down at my stomach. "Hungry?" he asked with a smirk.

I attempted to laugh, but inside I was screaming.

How utterly embarrassing could this day get? A grumbling stomach was one of the most unattractive sounds ever. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest, as if that would work.

"Here's your class," Sojiro said, looking up. He gave me a little nudge and pushed me inside. I didn't even bother turning around to say good-bye; my head was too full of shame.

_You're such a loser,_ Inner Yuki muttered.

--

As if the day couldn't get any worse, when I walked into fourth period, out of nowhere, something pelted me square the head. I dropped my books in the middle of all the surprise, and though no one was around to laugh, I still felt my face burning up. I rushed to pick up all my books, and then picked up what had hit me.

A… granola bar?

I looked around the room, but I didn't see anyone who could have possibly thrown it. I turned the bar around in my hands, and on the back was a note:

Yuki,

Your stomach doesn't lie. Lunch is only a period away.

-Sojiro

_Good lord, that is sappy, _Inner Yuki snapped.

I looked at the granola bar and sighed. How thoughtful was that? But then the grateful feeling was pushed aside by the pain on the left side of my head.

Sojiro wasn't even in this class. And even if he was, he wouldn't have been inconsiderate enough to chuck it at me. How confusing.

Why was he being so considerate?

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around, coming face-to-face with my best friend, Tsukushi Makino.

"Hey, Yuki," she said, sliding into the desk next to mine. "How's your day going?"

"Fantastic," I squealed. "My stomach started grumbling in the hallway, which was really embarrassing, but Sojiro sent me this!" I handed the granola bar eagerly to her.

She read the note on the back. "Sojiro?" she asked suspiciously. "The Sojiro I know?"

"Tsukushi, he's not who you think he is," I explained. "He's very sweet and thoughtful and kind… I mean, he gave me that granola bar."

"Expired," Tsukushi said, handing it back to me.

"What?" I asked.

"It expired like two months ago," Tsukushi said. "It says on the back."

"Oh, come on, Tsukushi," I said. "It was short notice. He only found out last period that I was hungry. And I think it's the thought that counts."

"Yuki, don't get associated with Sojiro that way," Tsukushi warned. "I'm serious. As a friend he's fine, but he's not a commitment sort of guy."

"I can take care of myself, Tsukushi," I assured her.

She looked at me worriedly but dropped the subject.

I spent the rest of the period examining the granola bar in delight. It's true that it was expired, but I savored the note on the back. Sojiro really was a good guy.

Inner Yuki was cringing, but nothing could keep me from smiling.


	4. Taking the Bait

Sojiro had invited me to dinner.

It was a breezy Saturday night. The wind was blowing at just the right amount so that my hair drifted slightly but it wasn't all over the place. I took this as a good omen.

And the weather was good too. Picture a cloudless night, around seventy degrees, and Sojiro looking his best, which was enough to make weaker girls drop dead. But I stood my ground.

Well, my knees were shaking a _little._

"This place is so fancy," I said in awe as we were seated at a table. Then I remembered Sojiro's family's huge fortune. This restaurant was probably just an everyday thing for him.

He stared at me, and I immediately felt self-conscious under his gaze. Why hadn't he said anything yet? Was there something on my face? Did I have a pimple?

Oh good lord.

Thankfully, the waiter that came over to our table saved us from the awkward silence. "Will you be having the regular, Mr. Nishikado?"

Sojiro nodded. "And she'll have the same," he said, pointing at me. I sighed a breath of relief. That saved me the trouble of having to go through the menu.

_I hope the regular includes steak,_ Inner Yuki salivated.

"So how are you, Yuki?" he asked, smiling at me, leaning over the table on his elbows.

Somehow, the words didn't manage to flow smoothly out of my mouth. They never did when I was around to Sojiro. Maybe it was his dark eyes, or the way his hair perfectly framed his face…

"F-fine," I blurted out loudly. It could not have been less ladylike, and people from other tables were even turning around to stare. I turned a deep flush of scarlet, and Sojiro chuckled.

"Are you scared of me?" he asked.

In fact, at that moment, he did look somewhat like a lion that was ready to pounce, but I wasn't going to tell him that. Besides, it's not like I was the lamb or anything.

"No," I said quickly. A little too quickly perhaps, because he didn't seem to believe me. We spent the next few minutes in silence, and I was dying on the inside. I wanted to strike up a conversation, but it didn't seem like there was anything we could talk about.

_He hasn't done much talking in the past, that's for sure._

I bit my lip. No, I didn't believe it. Sojiro wasn't like that. In fact, just to prove to Inner Yuki that Sojiro was a good guy, I would start the conversation.

"This is really good," I said. Bad decision.

I failed to notice that my mouth was half full. Food spilled out of my mouth clumsily, and I quickly grabbed for a napkin. This only caused me to knock over my water glass, making it crash onto the floor. Everyone within three tables looked over at me like I was insane. I stared at horror at the broken glass on the floor. A waiter quickly rushed over to clean it up, and I quickly mopped up my mess of a mouth.

I winced as I looked over at Sojiro. He was shaking uncontrollably, and for a second, I thought he was in tears. This confused me, because what could I have possibly done to make him cry? Was it the glass breaking?

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'll pay for it," I offered, reaching over to comfort him.

"Yuki, you're hilarious," he said, unfurrowing his head out of his arms. He was shaking alright… from _laughter._

I pulled my arm away and felt my eyes widen in embarrassment.

Well, at least the ice was broken.

Oh, and for the record, my dignity was in pieces, too.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said, looking at me warmly. "Most girls would have just run out of here screaming because they got water on their dress, but you stuck it out just for me."

Inner Yuki scoffed. _For you? In your dreams, pretty boy._

However, I was dumbfounded. Wet dress? I looked down and sighed in disgust. Yes. The front of my dress was partly soaked. But get your mind out of the gutter. I had on a padded bra.

"Thanks?" I said with a laugh.

The rest of the meal passed without incident. The meal came and went, and the French vanilla ice cream was to die for. I was about to get up when Sojiro stopped me.

"Where are you going?" he asked, looking up at me.

"Well, you just paid for the bill, so I thought…" I said, looking suspiciously down at him.

"The dessert hasn't come yet," he remarked, innocently straying away from my gaze.

"What?" I asked. "But we just had the ice cream."

"It's a two-course dessert," he said. He picked up a plate with a napkin carefully folded over it. Sojiro picked up the plate and passed it over to me.

I gave him a confused expression and took away the napkin. There was a card on the plate. I picked it up and inspected it. My face went up in flames.

_No he didn't._

"Why is there a hotel key card on the plate?" I asked, laughing half-heartedly. In all honesty, there was not a laughing bone in my body at the moment. In fact, I was now sitting up stiffly. In a split second I had gone from happy to completely uncomfortable.

"I booked a room in the luxury hotel across the street," Sojiro said, drawing out the word _luxury._ "What do you think?"

Anxiousness was bubbling viciously in my stomach. What was I supposed to say? He was asking me to bed. I had only known him for a few months, and he had only recently started paying special attention to me. I'm sure that my expression gave everything away.

"Don't worry, Yuki," Sojiro assured, "I'll take things slow."

Inner Yuki erupted. _Take things slow? Yeah, right! _

For once, I couldn't help but agree. This was all very unexpected, and highly disturbing. Not a bone in my body wanted to go to that hotel with him. Well, okay. Maybe one bone. But that was a very small bone… in my foot, maybe.

Some kind of hormonal bone?

But my common sense was winning. What could Sojiro possibly be thinking? This was ridiculous. Talk about moving fast. Extremely fast. Way too fast for me.

"I… I can't," I said with a firm shake of my head.

"Don't be nervous," he said, taking one of my hands in both of his. It felt nice… but did he even realize what he was asking?

He massaged my hand tenderly. I looked into his eyes and seemed to get lost in them. Inner Yuki was sending warnings, but it was easier to ignore my inner self.

"You know I care about you, Yuki."

I loved how he said my name. Would he have sent the granola bar if he didn't care about me? That's right; he wouldn't have. He could have just brushed it off and forgotten about it, but he got the food to me.

And he really was just a great guy. With a really, really cute smile…

But… did I really want to sleep with him? Was that who I was? I had to admit that I was uncomfortable with it, but… what was one night?

But then my other half took over. The more practical side. The side that told me that this night could change everything. That something might get wrong and I might end up being a teenage mother. Or that Sojiro might be turned off by my eagerness and just blow me off.

But he wouldn't do that.

Still, I was unsure of myself.

"I don't know, Sojiro," I said, pulling my hands back a little bit. "I mean, it's all moving kind of fast. I'm not sure if I'm ready."

"You'll be fine," he said. "I'll be with you every step of the way. You don't have to worry about a thing."

I let out a huge breath. The restaurant was clearing out a little bit; it was getting late.

"Well?" he asked, looking at me expectantly.

I toyed with the card in my hand. Then I glanced over at him. He looked like a little puppy dog searching for love. My eyes strayed down to my feet. It didn't look like I had much of a choice to make. There were two people at this table, and one and a half of them wanted to go across the street. Unfortunately, the other half of me was tugging away.

But that was the safe Yuki. That was the boring Yuki. Nothing fun ever happened to that Yuki.

Every part of me was surprised when I got up and looked at Sojiro with a smirk. "Okay, let's go," I said. I couldn't help but notice the sudden shakiness in my voice. My legs didn't feel very stable either. But my heart was beaming.

"Great," Sojiro said and got up eagerly. He led me out the door and across the street. I have to say that he had quite a steely grip on my wrist, but hey, the guy was excited.

The real question, however, was if I wanted to go through with this.

There was no stopping in the lobby, no holding still in the elevator. The guy was pumped. I was flattered; to think that Sojiro was so excited about me. But all this was a rush. Dread was pumping through my veins. Couldn't we slow down just a _little?_

We stopped outside of Room 294. "Can I have the key card?" he asked. I handed to him. He grabbed at it and opened the door with a flourish. Then he showcased the room with his hand and welcomed me inside.

"Well, come on," he said. "What are you waiting for?"

I followed him in, and he closed the door.

"I'll be right back," he said as he disappeared into the bathroom. "But I won't keep you waiting…"

It was no understatement that _millions_ of thoughts were rushing through my head at that moment. So many thoughts that I couldn't even think straight. It was an ongoing battle in my mind. Go with Sojiro. Walk away. Boring Yuki. Exciting Yuki. Sojiro. Safety.

Never had I ever come across so difficult a decision.

I gripped my purse and bit my lip. Sojiro was waiting inside that room. What should I do?

Tsukushi's face flashed into my mind. What would she do if Tsukasa forced all this on her?

But Sojiro wasn't forcing this on me. It's not like he had gagged me and thrown me into the room. Here was a choice that he was allowing me to make. Technically I had already made it over at the restaurant, but I could still make a complete one eighty.

I looked at the front door, and then I looked at the bathroom door. Back and forth. It was as if I was in a trance.

My hands were gripped so tight that my knuckles were a ghostly white. I'm sure that my face looked just the same.

_Well, Yuki, what do you do?_

A decision was to be made.

--

A/N: Cliffhanger. Mwahaha.

Reviews! Keep 'em coming (:


	5. Racing, Pacing

Running, running, running

Running, running, running. My heart was running a mile a minute.

Running, running, running. My legs were taking me far, far away.

Running, running, running. Away from Sojiro.

I heard my phone ringing inside my purse. A feeling of dread overflowed within me. It didn't take a genius to guess who it was. With all of my willpower I ignored the call and kept my pace up. I was now in the lobby of the hotel, getting very strange looks from passerby. But it didn't matter. Millions of thoughts were speeding through my head.

I didn't want to say that Sojiro was _forcing_ himself onto me. Inner Yuki had other thoughts, but she was never much of an aid. The simple truth was that Sojiro was ready and I wasn't. Guilt immediately passed through me as I thought of what kind of reaction Sojiro would have when he exited the bathroom. I glanced into my purse at my phone. There was a voicemail.

My mind abruptly split into two parties. One side voted OPEN THE VOICEMAIL. The other side instructed me to do the exact opposite. I ignored all voices and boarded a bus. Onward to home. At least there I could get some peace, quiet, and some time to think things over.

Sojiro had looked so eager when he was leading me into the hotel room. The joy on his face almost made me do it; _almost._ But I can't change who I am. I felt a blush creeping into my cheeks. I've only gotten past kissing a guy, and even that was totally awkward. Shouldn't Sojiro should have known that I was so shy?

_No,_ I thought to myself. No. Of course not. I was dropping all kinds of hints that I liked Sojiro. Or else, my body was. Like the blush whenever he would come within my sight?

But did he really take that as a call for sex?

I winced as I stepped off of the bus. Walking briskly towards my house, I couldn't take the tempatation anymore. I grabbed my cellphone out of my purse and sifted through my inbox. Finding Sojiro's voicemail, my heart tugged and pulled in different directions as I heard his voice.

Oh the guilt.

His tone was mixed with helplessness and a little bit of annoyance. The annoyance part I could totally understand. It was quite the swanky hotel. Even though his parents' paychecks were through the roof, it was probably still a hefty bill. And I ditched him. Yeah, that was the zinger.

And the helplessness triggered extreme sorrow in my heart. How could I have caused so much sadness? The guilt was so heavy that I almost spun around on my heel and went back to that hotel.

_Be realistic, Yuki,_ I scolded myself. Sojiro had informed me on the voicemail that he was heading back to his house. I probably would have done the same thing if I had been ditched.

But Sojiro wouldn't have ditched me.

"I'm such a bad person," I mumbled to myself. Could I be more selfish? I had just been thinking about my own insecurities. What about Sojiro? Had I even considered what he would feel when he opened the bathroom door and discovered me gone?

I closed my cellphone with a grimace. I knew what had to be done. I had to apologize to Sojiro, even if it meant getting down on my knees and begging for forgiveness. Chances are that I've betrayed his trust and he's lost his love for me.

Monday. On Monday I would have to go straight up to his locker no matter who would be looking and straight-out apologize. There was no other way.

--

Monday morning. I was a little more worried than I know I should have been, but apologizing was a big deal to me. Sometimes I messed it up and offended the other person instead of making them feel good. I had to choose my words carefully.

I even practiced in front of the mirror.

"Sojiro, I'm really sorry for walking out on you. Then again, you did forcefully bring me into the hotel…"

"You really shouldn't have tugged my arm so hard. Now it's practically bruised! Haha…"

"The old key-card-as-dessert trick? Classic."

"What's wrong with you? Don't you know that I'm unstable with that kind of stuff? I have like no experience. I've only kissed one guy in my life, and it wasn't even you! What are you trying to do, coming on to me like that? You ungrateful jerk!"

"Sojiro… when two people love each other…"

No, no, no! All wrong. Totally completely all wrong.

I was just going to have to wing it. And that might have been much worse than coming up with a plan.

--

Sojiro's locker. No Sojiro.

I peered around, gripping my books so hard that my knuckles were probably bright white. The plan wasn't going to work out so hot if he wasn't even here to hear my apology.

My ears perked up when I heard his voice a short distance away. I spun around on my heel and saw him speaking to someone else. I walked up to him and saw that he was speaking to a blonde girl. He was leaning against her locker and chatting lightly.

Was I jealous? Oh yeah. But this wasn't the time for self-pity. This was the time for apology.

"Sojiro," I choked out. "Can we talk?"

He turned around and glanced at me curiously. Sojiro looked back at the girl. "I'll be right back," he said smoothly and glided away from her. "Yes?" he asked as he neared me.

I bit my lip and fidgeted nervously. "About Saturday night…" I started.

Sojiro smirked. "You never returned my voicemail."

My jaw dropped. I had totally forgotten about the voicemail. Fantastic. Another thing to add to my list of mistakes… "I'm so sorry, Sojiro," I pleaded guiltily. "I totally wasn't thinking about your feelings when I left the room. I just chickened out. I'm such an idiot, and I'm so selfish I can't even stand it. I totally understand if you never ever want to speak to me again, but I hope that you don't do that, because I really enjoy having you as a friend. And I feel really privileged in the fact that you invited me to dinner and…" I blushed. "Yeah," I finished pathetically.

Much to my embarrassment, he had not uttered a single word of response. Finally, he spoke up to break the silence. "Yuki," he said with a chuckle. I was relieved. He wasn't angry. "You don't need to freak out about this. It's not that big of a deal."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "You're not mad?"

"I'm fine," he said, stuffing his hands in his pocket. "We'll get together some other time. I'll take it slower with us, okay?" His eyes twinkled at me. How was I supposed to say anything bitter to that face?

"Okay," I said dreamily.

He walked away to go join the girl again, and I floated off.

--

Reviews! They make the world round!

And when the world spins, people live, and I write!

See? It makes perfect sense.


	6. Movie Time

Chapter 5 - Movie Time

--

A/N: Hey guys. Really wasn't planning to finish this, but I figured, what the heck? There's a few people who have put this story on story alert, so for those people… this is for you! :D

--

"So how's it going with Tsukasa?" I asked Tsukushi. The two of us were snugly laying down in our sleeping bags facing each other. A huge bowl of popcorn separated us. What could I say? I needed a good sleepover.

"Same old," Tsukushi replied with a smirk. "He's too overbearing, I hate guys who are overbearing, and we're both the same amount of stubborn. It's just… a really complicated relationship."

"But you guys are so perfect for each other," I said, my eyes sparkling in delight. "How could that ever be complicated?"

Tsukushi frowned. "It is, believe me." She leaned up onto her elbows. "How's it going with you?"

I couldn't keep a smile off of my face. "Sojiro is just amazing," I said. "We went out for a dinner date, and that was just extravagant. Being rich really does have its perks. And then…" My voice floated off.

"And then…?" Tsukushi asked, urging me to continue while grabbing a handful of popcorn.

I bit my lip. "Well… you're not going to like this part, but don't go jumping to conclusions. He sort of asked me to… maybe go to bed with him," I blurted out quickly. Tsukushi's face immediately turned to anger, but I kept talking. "No, you don't understand. He wasn't forcing it on me at all." I laughed sheepishly. "Actually, I sort of left him at the hotel. See, I wasn't quite ready for it yet. But he wasn't mad at all. He was totally awesome about the whole thing…"

Tsukushi's expression worried me. There was no change in the anger. "Seriously?" she hissed. "He asked you to have sex with him?"

"Politely," I shrugged nervously.

"Yuki, are you blind?" she asked me, her eyes wide with disbelief. "He's just using you."

"He is not," I shot back. "He really cares about me." My earnest look seemed to make her quiet down a bit.

"How long have you two been going out?" Tsukushi asked after a long pause.

"Uh," I stuttered. "Well… you see, he hasn't _specifically_ asked me to be his girlfriend…" I searched for words for my argument, but I wasn't coming up with anything. Tsukushi refused to save me. Instead, she watched me intently as I tried to come up with proof on why Sojiro was such a great guy. "Can we just watch the movie?" I asked, exasperated.

"Yeah…" she said slowly, putting in the movie.

As the movie began, I looked over at Tsukushi quickly. I knew that she strongly disapproved of Sojiro… but…

"Hey, Tsukushi," I said, suddenly perking up. "Do you want to go on a double-date with Sojiro and me?"

Tsukushi looked over skeptically. "What?" she asked.

"We could go see a movie or something," I said. "I can totally prove that Sojiro's a good person if you just give me a chance."

Tsukushi sighed, turning back to the movie. "Sure, Yuki," she said. "That sounds fun." She didn't sound totally moved, but I was sure that I could persuade her that Sojiro was a great guy.

--

"Sojiro!" I called out in the middle of the hallway. I saw his tall figure turn around and my heart soared when I saw his face. I scrambled through the crowd and walked up to him. "Hey, what's up?" I asked perkily.

"Uh, not much," he said, scratching the top of his head. He looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah, just a stomachache," he said with a frown. "What's up with you?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to go do something this weekend with Tsukushi, Tsukasa, and me," I offered. "Do you think that you're up for it?"

Sojiro thought for a moment. "No, I have to help my parents with a tea ceremony this weekend. Sorry."

"Oh, that's no problem," I said quickly. "Maybe next weekend?"

"Maybe," he said. "Look, I've got to get to my next class. I'll see you later." And with that, he disappeared down the hallway.

_What a jerk! _Inner Yuki snarled.

Man, I thought to myself, that stomachache must be terrible. He wasn't acting anything like his regular self.

--

I had spoken to Tsukushi about the situation with Sojiro, and we had decided to just go by ourselves without any guys. "Tsukasa's been really busy lately anyway," she explained to me. "His sister's been making him run errands every day."

It was movie time!

"I'm so excited to see this movie," I said with a giddy smile. "It's broken like a bunch of records and stuff. Everyone says that it's really good."

"Yeah," Tsukushi agreed. "Hey, let's get a seat in the back."

I nodded and we made our way towards the very back row. As the movie started rolling, I kicked back and relaxed in my chair. A tall man and a shorter girl walked past in the aisle, and I moved back my feet for them. The girl tripped over one of Tsukushi's feet accidentally.

"Sorry!" Tsukushi said quickly.

The girl shot Tsukushi a glare in the dark, but the man in front of her kept walking.

"What a rude couple," Tsukushi muttered as soon as they were out of earshot. "Walk in during the middle of a movie and just cause a commotion."

"Did that girl look familiar to you?" I asked her, taking a handful of popcorn and stuffing it in my mouth.

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Tsukushi said. "I think she goes to our school." She scoffed. "Rude, just like everyone else."

"Be nice," I laughed.

The rest of the movie passed without incident. I had to agree with all of my other friend critics; the movie had been utterly amazing. "That was incredible," I gushed to Tsukushi. She nodded in agreement, then yawned and stretched.

The ending credits had just began to roll when she said, "Hey, can we get out of here? I'm kind of tired."

"Yeah, sure," I said, getting up from my seat.

Tsukushi got up to quickly and forgot about the popcorn bin in her lap. There was only a little bit left, but it skittered out into the aisle. She leaned down to pick it up and then gasped.

"Oh my god," she hissed.

"What?" I asked.

She pointed down the aisle. The theatre had just began to light up a bit, and people were shuffling out of their chairs out of the doors.

The tall man and the girl who had been accompanying him were sitting a few chairs down. I had been right- the girl was from our school. What Tsukushi and I had not noticed was that we should have also recognized the man as well…

"That bastard," Tsukushi muttered, glaring down towards the seats.

My eyes widened in horror as I caught sight of Sojiro and the girl in heavy liplock. They were _swallowing_ each other. It was clear that they had not seen a single scene of the movie. They had been enjoying each other's company too much.

"Tea ceremony, my ass," Tsukushi grimaced.

No words escaped past my mouth. I couldn't say anything. I was in too much shock. Sojiro -_my_ Sojiro- was down there exchanging saliva with another girl. And to top it all off, the girl had been completely rude to Tsukushi!

I wasn't shocked when I felt tears coming out of my eyes. I was a bit of a crybaby, but this time, I had a total reason to be. Tsukushi looked like every bone in her body wanted to beat Sojiro up, but all I wanted to do was get the heck out of there.

"Tsukushi, please, let's go," I said, grabbing her arm. She looked at me, and I was sure that I looked like the mere definition of helpless. Without saying a word, she walked with me towards the exit. We kept a brisk pace for a few minutes without saying a word. We got back to the car, and then Tsukushi let loose.

"Bastard!" she exclaimed, pounding the hood of the car.

"Calm down, Tsukushi," I sniffled, wiping the side of the my face.

"Calm down?" she asked me bitterly. "He lied to you, Yuki. You should be mad. Why are you acting so calm as if we saw nothing back there?"

"I… I can't deal with this now," I said, keeping my voice low. "I just need to go home and think for a second."

Tsukushi bit her lip grimly, inwardly calming herself down. "Fine," she said with difficulty. "Get in the car. I'll drive you home."

"Maybe I should drive," I said. "You're… kind of…"

"Angry?" Tsukushi said. She looked over at me. "You're not too great either." She nodded towards my hands. They were shaking uncontrollably as they gripped the door handle.

"Okay, maybe you should drive," I said, tossing the keys over to Tsukushi. I quickly got in the passenger seat.

The tragedy hadn't completely hit me quite yet. But I was sure in a few hours, I would be a sobbing mess.

What I was going to do about Sojiro, I didn't quite know yet. I didn't want to think about it.


End file.
